Google, Samsung and Huawei are the main powerhouses of the Android world and their 3 latest flagship smartphones have the specs, as well as the price tags, to match their reputation.

As the three smartphones - Huawei P20 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus and Google Pixel 2 XL - are all matched pretty closely when it comes to size, specs and price, it can be tricky trying to decide which one is best for you so we've put all of the information you need to make a more informed choice below.

We will focus on the photo capture aspect of each device a little more than anything else, as, after all, we are a photography website but we will also look at the screen size and how each phone feels in the hand as these features are also important to users who spend a lot of time capturing images with their smartphones.

In The Hand

Size-wise, all three smartphones are roughly the same size with only a few millimetres separating them. If we were to split hairs, the Huawei P20 Pro is the smallest but it is the heaviest of the three flagship smartphones.

They all have rounded corners and bezels which certainly can't be described as 'bulky' or 'wide' but the Samsung S9 Plus and Google Pixel 2 XL do have slightly wider top bezels when compared with the Huawei P20 Pro which just has a top notch.

At one point, we all would have considered the size of these three smartphones to be on the large size but with phablets becoming the norm, they no longer feel big and in fact, thanks to some clever bevelling, the smartphones have larger screens without the phones growing in size.

The P20 Pro feels solidly built, although you will most likely want a screen protector and case to protect the glass on the front and back of the smartphone. The metal sides and buttons give a premium feel, adding to the solid design of the smartphone.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus is also well-made with tough metal surrounding the edges and glass covering the front and back, which can be slippery with no skin or case.

As for the Google Pixel 2 XL, it features a mostly metal back, with a glass section surrounding the camera lens and LED. There are also squeezable sides, like the HTC U11, so if you can 'squeeze' the phone, it will bring up Google Assistant, and you can ask the assistant to "Take a Selfie" or "Take a photo". As with the P20 Pro and S9 Plus, the Pixel 2 XL looks smart, professional and modern - something you'd expect from flagship smartphones.

Only the Huawei P20 Pro has a home button but you do soon get used to using smartphones that don't have one and all can easily be operated with one hand but we do recommend you use both of your hands when capturing photos or video just to give a little more stability.

To unlock the phones, you can use a fingerprint sensor or there's an option to enter a code should a friend want to use your phone. The S9 Plus can also be unlocked with your face thanks to the introduction of a second front-facing camera.

One slight bugbear with all three smartphones is that they are a fingerprint magnet so a case is a good idea. Plus, as we said, a case will offer more protection to your smartphone anyway so they're always worth buying.

If we were to pick a phone simply on how the front looks, we'd go for the Huawei as it just looks that little bit more smart and modern than the other two smartphones we're comparing it with.

The Screen

When it comes to screens, it's all about the inches and the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus has the most, measuring 6.2". Up next is the Huawei P20 Pro with 6.1" and the Google Pixel 2 XL has a 6" screen. None of the screens can be described as 'small' but when you consider the overall size of the P20 Pro, its body-to-screen ratio is impressive.

All of the smartphones, of course, have a glass screen and it's Gorilla Glass protecting these Android flagships. Both the Samsung and the Huawei offer clear views at all viewing angles and are bright so can be used outdoors. However, even though the screen on the Google Pixel 2 XL is bright, viewing angles aren't as good as other premium smartphones, as it quickly takes on a blue colour cast if you're not viewing it directly.

For those who like to compare numbers, the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus offers the highest resolution at 2960x1440 followed by the Google Pixel 2 XL at 2880x1440 and the Huawei P20 Pro has a screen resolution of 2240x1080.

The Camera

Huawei P20 Pro Vs Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus Vs Google Pixel 2 XL

The camera quality of smartphones has steadily improved and the flagship offerings from Samsung, Google and Huawei are definitely impressive.

Let's start with the Huawei P20 Pro which features a "Leica Triple Camera", making it the first smartphone with three cameras on the back, consisting of a 40mp f/1.8 main camera, 20mp f/1.6 black and white camera, and an 8mp f/2.4 telephoto camera giving 3x zoom.

The triple cameras on the back are made up of the following camera units:

The 40mp and 8mp cameras are next to each other, with the single 20mp monochrome camera on its own, with a dual LED flash, and then LEICA branding. The 40mp camera is larger than most smartphone cameras, with a 1/1.7inch sensor with "Quad Bayer" sensor - which Huawei also call "Light Fusion Pixels". The phone uses the other camera(s) including the black and white sensor to add detail to images. There's a colour temperature sensor below the LED flash.

The selfie camera on the front of the smartphone features a 24mp f/2.0 camera.

Optical image stabilisation can be found on the telephoto camera, but details on the other camera units is not available.

Like the Huawei Mate 10 Pro, the camera features "Artificial Intelligence" scene recognition, however, the P20 Pro will now recognise 19 scenes and object modes. The phone will then adjust colour, contrast, brightness, exposure, noise reduction and image sharpening to suit the scene.

The photography app gives you manual controls, and you can shoot raw images as well (in Pro mode). There are numerous shooting modes available including Aperture (letting you set the aperture between f/0.95 and f/16), Night, Portrait (with bokeh, beauty and lighting controls), Photo, Video, Pro, Monochrome, Time-lapse, Watermark, Panorama, HDR, 3D Panorama, Slow-mo, Light Painting, Filter, and Document Scan. You can download additional modes as they become available, such as Good Food.

Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

The Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus features a wide-angle camera with optical image stabilisation (OIS), and a variable aperture, which will automatically switch between f/1.5 and f/2.4 depending on lighting conditions. In pro mode, you can set the aperture yourself. The 12-megapixel sensor features a dual-pixel design for rapid focus. The sensor has 1.4um pixels (find out what pixel size means here), which are quite large for a smartphone, allowing the sensor to gather more light, and giving better noise performance.

The telephoto lens on the S9 Plus has a f/2.4 aperture and optical image stabilisation helps keep shots sharp. The telephoto camera also features a 12-megapixel sensor, however, the pixels are smaller at 1um.

The front 8-megapixel "selfie" camera has a bright f/1.7 aperture and auto-focus.

There have been further updates made to the camera app, with AR Emoji, and Super Slow-motion recording, at up to 960fps. "Bixby Vision" is built-in, letting you search the internet for similar items to what you've taken a photo of. Touch focus can be used, and thanks to every pixel on the dual pixel sensor being used for phase detection, autofocus is blisteringly fast, helping you capture sudden movements.

Shooting modes include Auto, Live Focus (for blurred backgrounds), Pro, Panorama, Super Slow motion (up to 960fps), Hyperlapse, AR Emoji, Food, and video modes. There is a built-in LED flash on the rear, and the front screen can be used as a selfie flash when using the front camera, in low-light conditions.

Like most smartphones, there's no dedicated camera shutter release button on the S9 / S9 Plus, but the camera app opens up extremely quickly and responds almost instantly to presses of the on-screen shutter button. You can also use the volume control as a shutter release button. Double pressing the power button will also quickly open the camera app, even when the phone is locked.

The camera app is easy to use and it's quick and easy to find options and change settings. The camera focuses extremely quickly, and shutter response is instant. Swiping up or down will switch to the selfie camera, and it's easy to accidentally activate the selfie camera. There are a number of default shooting modes, more of which you can read about in our full review.

In Pro mode, you can manually change the ISO speed (from 50 to 800), or leave it on auto and it can go up to ISO1250 in dark lighting. You can adjust the shutter speed, aperture (f/1.5 or f/2.4), colour, focus, white balance, exposure compensation, metering, AF area, and flash.

Google Pixel 2 XL

The Google Pixel 2 XL has a 12mp f/1.8 camera featuring optical image stabilisation (OIS), dual-pixel autofocus, and 1.4um pixels. There's no optical zoom but digital zoom is available to give 2x the reach. A dual LED flash can be found on the back, but no LED flash for the front selfie camera (however, there is an option to use the screen as a flash). The front selfie camera is an 8mp f/2.4 camera, with 1.4um pixels. The camera uses dual pixel auto-focus to take portrait photos with blurred backgrounds. The HDR+ / HDR Enhanced photo modes produce sharper images with more dynamic range and less noise.

The default camera app has a number of different shooting modes, including Slow motion, Panorama, Photosphere, Portrait, AR Stickers, Normal photo and Video.

There is no "pro" or "Professional" mode. But there are options for self-timer, HDR+/Enhanced (if HDR control is on in advanced settings), Motion picture, Grid display, White balance, and flash. You can also switch video stabilisation on or off. If you want more controls, for example, to change the ISO speed or shoot raw, then you'll need a third-party app.

A bonus of the Google Pixel 2 Xl is that it comes with unlimited online storage until the year 2020 so that you can store all your original full-size images online. After 2020 you can only backup smaller images.

Photo Quality

Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

Google Pixel 2 XL

Huawei P20 Pro

The P20 Pro, with a 40mp sensor, and an image that is reduced to 10mp provides high levels of detail in this shot, with text on the billboards clearer and easier to read than the other two smartphones. The colour reproduction from the P20 Pro can vary from shot-to-shot (depending on whether you use Pro mode or "Photo Genius"). This can be frustrating if you're expecting consistent results. Or could be seen as a bonus, if you want to be able to choose between different coloured versions of your photos!

Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

Google Pixel 2 XL

Huawei P20 Pro

In this shot, the Pixel 2 XL gives the photo with the most detail, see the "Tramlines" poster on the red building - then other signs, some of the P20 image is sharp, whereas other areas are not as sharp. Viewing the 40mp version shows more detail in some areas, but there are some strange image artefacts around the "Broad Street" sign in the middle of the photo.

Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus 2x optical zoom

Google Pixel 2 XL 2x digital zoom

Huawei P20 Pro 3x optical zoom

With 3x zoom, the Huawei P20 Pro wins the 'reach' contest but the photo is a little over sharpened for our liking. Although, you can read sign text which you can see is some distance away from where the photo was captured.

The Google Pixel 2 XL does a reasonable job considering it is using digital zoom, however, it can't really compete with cameras with true optical zoom and the Samsung while falling short of the 3x zoom the Huawei P20 Pro offers, produces the most natural looking image.

The Huawei P20 Pro also has a 5x "hybrid/digital" zoom which you can learn more about in our full review.

Huawei P20 Pro 5x "hybrid/digital" zoom

More Sample Photos

Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus Sample Photos

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Google Pixel 2 XL Sample Photos

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Huawei P20 Pro Sample Photos

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ISO Comparison

Samsung Galaxy S9 ISO range: 50-1250

Google Pixel 2 XL ISO range: 50-3200

Huawei P20 Pro ISO range: 50-6400

Noise control: The S9 Plus features standard image processing while the Pixel 2 XL uses multi-shot to combine shots for an image with lower noise, while retaining detail and colour and the P20 Pro uses a 40mp sensor, and shrinks the image down to a 10mp image, for lower noise.

Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus | ISO 100

Google Pixel 2 XL Adobe Lightroom Camera | ISO 104

Huawei P20 Pro | ISO 100

Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus: Noise is low from ISO50 to ISO200, with some appearing at ISO400. Above ISO400 and at ISO800 noise becomes more noticeable, and detail suffers, but results remain usable, with good colour reproduction.

Google Pixel 2 XL: To get control over the ISO speed used, we downloaded the free Adobe Lightroom app and noise is well controlled to around ISO800.

Huawei P20 Pro: If you shoot at the 40mp image size, then the highest ISO speed you'll want to use is ISO400, as noise starts to become strong. Above this speed, images become softer, although ISO800 may still provide usable images. At 10mp, results are good up to ISO800 / ISO1600. At ISO3200 and above, colour saturation drops off. Shooting with the 20mp black and white camera, results are quite good even at the highest ISO speeds of ISO1600 and ISO3200 / ISO6400, making it a good option in low-light conditions.

White Balance Comparison

Google Pixel 2 XL: Auto White Balance (AWB) gives a warm result under tungsten lighting with a similar result using the tungsten preset.

Huawei P20 Pro: Auto White Balance (AWB) performs well under a variety of shooting conditions, whether tungsten, fluorescent or mixed lighting. but we had to use +0.7 exposure compensation as the Huawei P20 Pro underexposed this image without it.

AWB Tungsten

Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus | AWB Tungsten

Google Pixel 2 XL | AWB Tungsten

Huawei P20 Pro | WB Tungsten

Monochrome

With the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus and the Google Pixel 2 XL, you have to use digital filters to create a monochrome look (these can be viewed live, though) or you can create the effect in one of the many third-party apps that are available after you've captured your images. The Huawei P20 Pro is a little bit different as it has a monochrome 20MP, f/1.6 camera you can capture monochrome images with and it does it very well. So, if you want a 'true' black and white image, the Huawei might be for you.

Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

Google Pixel 2 XL

Huawei P20 Pro

Low Light

There's an improvement in low-light performance on the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus, compared to the S8, with lower noise, more detail, and less "smudging" of images. Plus, thanks to the optical image stabilisation, it's possible to take photos at shutter speeds as low as 1/5th of a second.

There are situations where the S9 gives better results than the Google Pixel 2 XL, and in very low-light the f/1.5 aperture gives images from the S9 lower noise. However, there are times when the Pixel 2 gives better results due to it taking multiple images and merging them (when there is enough light for the f/1.8 lens). The Pixel 2 XL is also better at capturing a wider dynamic range in images, with better detail in the shadows.

The night mode on the Huawei P20 Pro lets you shoot at shutter speeds up to 7 seconds without the use of a tripod - very cool, but focus sometimes struggles in low light.

Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

Google Pixel 2 XL

Huawei P20 Pro

Video Quality

Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

Google Pixel 2 XL

Huawei P20 Pro

4K Video

Yes

Yes

Yes

Full HD Video

Yes

Yes

Yes

Image Stabilisation

Optical and Electronic

Optical

Electronic

Slo-Motion Video

240fps, with a FullHD resolution

FullHD video at 120fps, or 720p video at 240fps

FullHD video at 120fps (slow-mo), and super slow-mo at 960fps at a reduced resolution of 720p

Battery

Battery life on all of the devices is good for modern smartphones and we also ran a number of benchmark tests to see how the three phones compare. These were done on the AnTuTu and Geekbench sites where the phones scored the following (best scores & battery size underlined):

Price

ePHOTOzine Rating

"The Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus impresses with the brightest camera lens available, a dual aperture, and telephoto lens, both with optical image stabilisation and 4K video."

Highly Recommended -

Huawei P20 Pro

"The Huawei P20 Pro offers four different cameras, but doesn't quite deliver a great camera experience from all four of them.."

Recommended -

Google Pixel 2 XL

"The Google Pixel 2 XL delivers impressive portrait shots and images with high levels of detail, thanks to clever technology."

Highly Recommended -

Our Pick: Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

We couldn't really finish the comparison without picking a favourite and if we were to buy one of these three smartphones, it would be the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus currently sits at the top of our '12 Best Camera Phones For Photography' buyer's guide and it definitely shows that Samsung is taking smartphone photography seriously. It's difficult to see any areas where this camera phone is lacking, and if your budget covers the cost of this smartphone then you'll be rewarded with excellent results.

To compare the 3 smartphones further, have a look at the specs table below and do have a read of our full reviews.